Garden City (N.Y.) rising junior attackman Kieran Byrnes has made a verbal commitment to play Division I lacrosse at Villanova University.

Kieran Byrnes log:

Kieran Byrnes

High school: Garden City High School

Year of graduation: Class of 2014

Position: Attack

College choice: Villanova University

Club affiliation: LI Express

Lacrosse honors: Maverik Showtime All Star Selection, Member of Garden City High School NY State Championship and National Championship team

Academic honors: Principal’s list all years

Intended major: “I plan to attend the business school and will major in either Finance or Economics.”

Why did you choose Villanova? “There were many factors that influenced my decision. At the end of the process I felt that Villanova would allow me to maximize my college experience.. The school has a great academic reputation, a great campus environment and is close enough to home that my family and friends will be able to visit and see games. From a lacrosse perspective I felt very comfortable with Coach (Michael) Corrado, Coach (Simon) Connor, and Coach (Andy) German. They made me feel very welcome and I feel that my style of play will work well within their system.”

Outlook for HS team in 2013: “Although it will be hard to improve on last season’s success and we graduated a number of great players, we still have a number of very talented players returning and Garden City has demonstrated in the past the ability to regroup and continue to be a championship caliber team. The coaches do a great job preparing each player so that we are ready to step in when called upon.”

Other schools considered: Duke, UNC, Brown, Towson, and Penn.
Other Comments: “I’d like to thank Coach Finnell and Coach Flatley at Garden City High School and Coach Moran and Coach Isnardi with the Long Island Express, who have helped me to understand the game better in order to elevate my play. Great players like Tim Goettelmann, Peter LeSueur and Dean Gibbons have all given me their unique perspective to help me develop my own style. Of course the biggest influences are my parents and brothers, who support me while challenging me to always keep improving.”